Goal: Update Your Online Profiles

Think of the horror! I completed my Masters degree in September, but many of my online profiles I checked today listed this as incomplete! Not such a nightmare, but we probably do not realize how many of our online profiles are outdated. Therefore, I am challenging you today to update at least one of your profiles, with the long-term goal of maintaining a positive digital footprint. You never know who you will run into or the opportunities that await you. Often, as part of my position at Parentella I search for possible conference speakers. Also, I am trying to organize tweet-ups at places I will be traveling to. I browsed through ning profiles to find educators in specific locations since I have yet to find an application that will help me find locations of educators I interact with on Twitter. Several of the profiles I sifted through lacked profile pictures, bios, activity, or links to blogs or other achievements. Just by having updated profiles that I feel positively reflect my attributes and mission, I have been invited to participate in conferences, offered various positions, and established relationships with new colleagues!

Updating Your Profile

To complete this task, update at least one of your profiles on any site, such as on a Ning, Google profile, Blogger (Commenting with your Google profile), Technorati, LinkedIn, or Twitter! If you do not have any online profiles, then I suggest creating one. You can start small by creating a ning or Twitter profile. These take less than 30 minutes to create a really fantastic profile. Here are a few guidelines for maintaining your online profile:

Remember nearly every social website you sign-up for requires a profile!

The obvious ones are LinkedIn and Facebook. Keep track of the other social sites you signed up for such as Youtube, Vimeo, Twitter, Google Reader/Profile, Blogger, Delicious, Flickr, SlideShare, and so forth. On most of these accounts you may have no profile listed. My long-term goal is to get suitable profiles on most of social networking sites or get rid of them.

Note: Try clicking on your avatar when you make a comment on different blogs to see what comes up.

Include an image, bio, and link to at least one portfolio item!

If possible the portfolio item should be a video, slide presentation with audio, wiki, or blog. If you really want to draw attention, then offer a lesson, hand-out, presentation, or other product you created for free. I often include the PowerPoint templates I created on the MicroSoft network for educators.

If you can add a reference letter to the website or a recommendation, then ask your friends if they will write one for you.

It’s okay to use the same items for each profile!

If you visit the several nings I participate in, then you will see the same information, look, and image. I developed one profile I liked. Each time I join a new ning, I copy and paste the same information. I usually copy and paste what I can from my ning networks for other networks as well. This saves me a lot of time! Here’s my profile in the Educator’s PLN ning.

You may notice that I include a recent picture, a short bio, my rss feeds, and places to contact me.

More Resources

If you haven’t already created an online portfolio, resume, or CV then this should definitely be one of your long-term goals. The links below will help you accomplish this:

My Visual CV– This free website is incredible for creating a professional and impressive portfolio.

My Google Profile– Another free website that is frequented so you should definitely have a profile with Google.

Shelly Sanchez Terrell (@ShellTerrell) is an award winning digital innovator, an international speaker/consultant, and the author of Hacking Digital Learning with EdTech Missions, The 30 Goals Challenge for Teachers, and Learning to Go. She has trained teachers and taught English language learners in over 20 countries as an invited guest expert by organizations, like the US Embassy, UNESCO Bangkok, Cultura Inglesa of Brazil, the British Council in Tel Aviv, IATEFL Slovenia, HUPE Croatia, ISTEK Turkey, and Venezuela TESOL. She has been recognized by several organizations and publications as a leader in the movement of teacher driven professional development as the founder and organizer of various online conferences, Twitter chats, and Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs). Two of the projects she co-organized were shortlisted for ELTons, #ELTChat and the Virtual Round Table Language and Technology online conference. She was named Woman of the Year by the National Association of Professional Women, awarded a Bammy Award as a founder of #Edchat, and named as one of the 10 Most Influential People in EdTech by Tech & Learning. Her greatest joy is being the mother of baby Savannah and Rosco the pug.
Shelly has an Honors BA in English with a Minor in Communication and a specialization in Electronic Media from UTSA, a Masters in Curriculum Instruction ESL from the University of Phoenix, and a CELTA from CELT Athens. She regularly shares her tips for effective technology integration via Twitter (@ShellTerrell), Facebook.com/ShellyTerrell, and on her blog, TeacherRebootCamp.com, which has won several awards and recognitions as one of the top ESL, Edtech and Elearning blogs. Find over 400 of her slide presentations at https://www.slideshare.net/ShellTerrell/presentations

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FULL DISCLOSURE: Although you will find hundreds of free web tools and apps listed on this blog, some of the links might be affiliate links or links shared with payment or service of some kind to the blogger.

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FULL DISCLOSURE: Although you will find hundreds of free web tools and apps listed on this blog, some of the links might be affiliate links or links shared with payment or service of some kind to the blogger.